Friendly Firefighter Bill (Regnier) stopped, dropped, covered his face and rolled around the Chelsea Area Fire Authority station floor to show students in Safety Town what to do if their clothes ever caught on fire.
Then he put on his turnout gear and spoke through his mask to let the children know that even though he might look a little scary, he was still the same person who was rolling around on the floor a few minutes before.
And that was all before he got on the floor and high-fived any of the pre-kindergarten children who wanted to touch his gloved hand.
Meanwhile, Fire Captain Augustine Syrovy told the children to only call 9-1-1 when there was an emergency and not to touch matches or lighters — rather tell an adult — and to stay away from and not touch ovens, hot stovetops or fireplaces.
He told the children that if there was a fire in their house, they should stay low to the ground and get out — that even firefighters wearing all their protective gear do the same thing — and that each family should have a designated meeting place outside the home, such as at the mailbox or special tree or rock.
Syrovy told the children that once they are out of the house to stay outside if there’s a fire and that the firemen would rescue other family members or pets that might still be inside. “That’s our job,” he said, adding, “We’ll save them.”
He also told the children that they should ask their parents to test the smoke detectors in their house so the children could hear what they sound like and also to be sure that the batteries are working.
And once the presentation was over, the really fun stuff began as child after child was able to climb inside a fire engine, look around and sit where the firefighters do, before being helped back out by Firefighter Ian Ballard.
But that wasn’t all, the children were given junior firefighter helmets in their choice of pink or black to wear back on the bus to North Creek Elementary, where Safety Town takes place.
